Chinese Pavilion

Fall is a wonderful time to visit Lasdon Public Gardens!

Hidden on our 234 acres is the Chinese Friendship Pavilion. It was given by Westchester’s Sister City, Jingzhou, in the People’s Republic of China in 1998.

It is a classic Chinese structure and was constructed in China, disassembled, and brought to the United States where it was assembled by several Chinese craftsmen. The pavilion and garden represents the good will relations between Westchester and Jingzhou. 

Planted on one side of the pavilion are peonies. These plants will bloom in the spring.  On the other side are planted Korean chrysanthemums. These bloom later than the common bedding mums and can flower into November.  The gardeners will cut back these mums to the ground in January.

Around Gorski Pond, you will find dawn redwood trees (Metasequoia glyptostroboides). Thought to be extinct in the wild a tree was found in Hubei, China in 1941 at a local shrine.  All trees are direct descendants of this tree.  This tree can grow to 160′ and is deciduous (loses its needles) and has beautiful fall color. 

Also found around the pavilion is bamboo.  Depending on which species of bamboo you plant it can be very invasive. Here at Lasdon the maintenance crew try to keep it in check! The gardeners harvest it to use as supports of plants around the garden. We also use it to support our young tomato plants grown from seed.

A small parking lot to the right after you enter from Rte 35 will take you to the pond and pavilion.  As you walk the path, you will be walking through the Historic Tree Trail. New signage has been added and tells of the importance of each of these trees.

Some photos of the Chinese pavilion over the years. 

Source : Wikimedia Commons

Source : Wikimedia Commons